


Snow Problem

by notquitepunkrock



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mortal, Christmas Fluff, Cute, Cute Kids, F/M, Fluff, Like the one sally is pregnant with in TOA, Meet-Cute, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Winter, but not quite idk man, ski resort AU, the literal opposite of slow burn tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 11:32:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8843074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notquitepunkrock/pseuds/notquitepunkrock
Summary: “So, lessons?”

  “Lessons,” he agreed. She nodded once and tugged off her glove, jotting down a place and time in a notebook that she pulled from a pocket inside her olive green puffer vest. 
  based on this prompt by blakesmilitia on tumblr: TEACH ME HOW TO SKI (lol jk i know how you’re just so fucking cute)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yes the title is a pun fight me. Also, Percy's sister's full name (for the purposes of this fic) is Nerissa Desdemona Blofis. A horrible name, really, but like. Both are Shakespearean names, and Sally is a writer and Paul's an English teacher, and also, Sally named her son _Perseus_ so is Nerissa really a stretch? No, says I. ((Also thanks @Molly for the naming help))
> 
> Disclaimer: I know absolutely nothing about skiing. This was written for a challenge from my friend. It's a mess. I'm sorry.

Percy tugged his blue knit cap further down around his ears, waving enthusiastically at his sister. Nerissa grinned, a huge, gap-toothed smile, and turned back towards her instructor, whipping around so quickly that she nearly hit the boy next to her in the face with a plaited pigtail. He chuckled and rolled his eyes as the boy glared at her, though he found himself on the edge of his seat, ready to jump up if the boy tried something. (What, he wasn’t entirely sure, given that the boy was seven or eight, but Percy was nothing if not overprotective.)

The instructor turned away from scolding a pair of blond-haired twins who he thought were her brothers, and Percy’s eyebrows shot up. He was raised by his single, and very feminist, mother to think of women as more than just their looks, but  _ wow, _ this girl was hot. She had had long curly hair tied into a fishtail braid over one shoulder, and a gray beanie perched on her head, and even from here he could see it matched her stormy eyes. He suddenly regretted choosing a bench so far away from the class, instead of hovering closeby with the helicopter parents.

(Okay, so maybe Nerissa had threatened him with no cookies after dinner if he hovered - she was scary, and their mom made the best cookies known to man.)

He watched as the varying six-to-eight-year-olds - the  _ Snow Bunnies _ , Nerissa had informed sternly - gathered around the instructor began slowly pushing off with their ski poles. There really wasn’t much to see, he thought idly, wishing that he was with Grover and his brother, going tubing down one of the smaller hills (it was easier with Grover’s muscle problems and Tyson’s impaired vision than skiing was.) By the end of the hour and a half long lesson, his eyes were drooping, but he was pleased to see that Nerissa was skillfully dodging the obstacles on the small slope. 

The parents began collecting children, a few glaring disapprovingly at him as he shook himself awake and jogged over to his sister. Percy rolled his eyes - he was used to snobby families at overpriced ski resorts looking down their noses at him and his slightly shabby coat and skis. 

Nerissa was talking excitedly to the instructor when Percy approached, her eyes light and bouncing on her toes. She threw her arms around her brother’s waist when he came to a stop at her side. “This is my big brother, Percy,” she announced, grinning as his ruffled her hair. “He skipped hanging out with his friends to come watch me, ‘cause he’s the greatest, ever.”

Percy felt his ears turning red under his cap and shrugged nonchalantly. “I wouldn’t go that far,” he said awkwardly. “Percy Jackson,” he added, holding out a gloved hand for the girl to shake.

The instructor smiled kindly at him. She was even prettier up close, her blonde curls framing her face perfectly in the places where they’d escaped from her braid. “Annabeth Chase,” she replied, shaking his hand. Her small hand was warm. “You’ve got quite a talented sister here, Percy.”

“We raised her well,” he shrugged. He sidestepped the tiny elbow that Nerissa tried to dig into her side as he added, “Even if Mom and Paul did give her the worst name known to man.”

“Meanie,” Nerissa mumbled, smile giving away her amusement.

“So do you ski, Percy? I’d be happy to teach you,” Annabeth asked him, eyes kind and a little fierce. Percy was pretty sure he could fall in love with those eyes alone. He glanced at his sister, who had wandered a couple of feet away and was talking to one of the blond twins that Annabeth had been scolding at the beginning of the class.

“Not really,” he shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck in a way that he hoped was embarrassed. He elected to ignore the fact that his father had been paying for his family to take a trip to various ski resorts since he was nine, almost as compensation for his mom marrying his asshole ex-stepfather.  _ Sorry your stepdad’s a dick, have a trip to the mountains with your mom for a week to get away from him! I’ll talk to you in August!  _ It sucked in a lot of ways, but as he got older, he was allowed friends - Grover and Tyson, though the latter was his half-brother and fourteen, so he didn’t  _ quite _ count - and was actually pretty good at skiing. “I’m a city boy - New York City, that is.”

Annabeth tilted her head, looking interested. “Where in New York?”

“Manhattan,” Percy replied with a small grin, thinking fondly of their cozy three-bedroom apartment, a much nicer home than the one he’d grown up in when he was small. He thought it might have been a wedding gift from his dad, but regardless, life had gotten a lot better since his mom kicked Gabe to the curb and married Paul. 

“Me too,” she said with a smile that went all to her eyes. “So, lessons?”

“Lessons,” he agreed. She nodded once and tugged off her glove, jotting down a place and time in a notebook that she pulled from a pocket inside her olive green puffer vest. 

Annabeth looked as surprised as Percy felt when she kissed him on the cheek after pressing the paper into his. The spot felt warm the entire way back to the cabin.

\---

“Dude, you  _ know _ how to ski,” Grover reminded him, taking a bite of the overly cheesy enchilada that Percy had placed before him before sitting down to tug on his snow boots. It was still steaming, and he nearly dropped it as hot cheese burnt his hands. “I don’ un’erstan’ why you’re takin’ lethons.”

“English, please,” Percy teased, passing over a napkin for Grover to spit the cheese into. The skinny boy declined, shaking his head and swallowing the cheesy bite.

“I don’t understand why you’re taking lessons,” he repeated, grabbing for a glass of water to soothe his burnt tongue.

Nerissa piped up from where she was sitting with Tyson on the floor, the two engrossed in a puzzle depicting a christmas tree and warm, crackling fire. “It’s ‘cause he thinks Ms. Annabeth is cute,” she announced, smiling her most innocent gap-toothed grin when Percy shot her a glare. Grover nodded as though the seven-year-old had just told him the secret to life.

Tyson paused after carefully fitting an edge piece into place. “Good luck, brother,” he grinned, big brown eyes holding far too much mischief for Percy’s liking. Still, Percy smiled, hauling himself out of the chair and walking into the mudroom, where his coat and hat were hung by the door.

“Thanks big guy,” he grinned, poking his head back into the kitchen. “I’m off now, you two take care of ‘Rissa. If my sister gets hurt on your watch, I’m coming for you both. Oh, and Grover?” He waited until the oldest of the boys looked up and his sister wasn’t looking before cheerfully flipping him off. The indignant squawk of protest his friend gave was cut off when he closed the door. 

\----

Percy fell into the snow again, huffing out a quiet chuckle. Annabeth let out a laugh that had her screwing up her eyes and wrinkling her nose, that was, frankly, adorable, and swooped gracefully over to his side.

“Good try,” she grinned, holding out a hand to hoist him to his feet. Once he was standing again, she squeezed it slightly before letting go, pink tinting her cheeks that was definitely not caused by the cold.

“It was awful,” Percy laughed. He knew it was, because he’d made sure it was. If they weren’t on the abandoned beginner’s slope at night, lit up by bright lights down the hill, he would have been embarrassed. However, he was quickly discovering that anything to make Annabeth laugh like that was worth it.

“It was,” she agreed easily. “Let’s try again.”

The pair were the only one’s on Bunny Hill, the easiest slope at the resort. It was normally teeming with children and their parents, awkwardly gangly teenagers in groups who were all trying to get the hang of skiing with newly long legs, and instructors and first aid officials from the resort, but after sunset it was closed to patrons. Piper, one of the instructors on Bunny Hill, had led them past the rope with a knowing smirk, cautioning Annabeth with a reminder that as soon as dinner was over for the many teenaged instructors, the hill would be overrun. They had thirty minutes left, according to last count.

Percy spaced out this time, easily skiing almost all the way down the hill before he remembered that he was supposed to be bad at this. He let himself fall clumsily, and groaned as he landed in the snow. Annabeth stopped at his side and narrowed her gray eyes.

“That was… good,” she said uncertainly, holding out a hand for him to get up.

Percy put a hand to his chest, and gasped dramatically, feigning offense. “Are you saying I’m so bad that getting it right is  _ impossible?” _ he joked, biting on his lip to keep from smiling. “Why Annabeth, I am offended.”

“No, no,” she said, shaking her head and laughing a little. “I’m saying that was… too good. You’ve been falling every time and that was… except for the fall at the end, that was near perfect. Not shaky or anything.”

Percy grinned, ducking his head. “Maybe you’re just a really good teacher,” he tried, praying she wouldn’t catch him.

“Or  _ maybe _ you were lying to me, and already know how to ski,” Annabeth grinned, and he was relieved to see that she didn’t look mad. “The jig is up, Jackson. There’s no way you got good in one try.”

“Okay, okay, you caught me,” Percy said finally, holding his hands up in surrender. “I just couldn’t resist.”

“Resist what? Pretending you couldn’t ski so I could embarrass myself by teaching you something you already knew?” Annabeth pouted adorably as she said this, but there was no heat or even hurt behind her words. 

Percy shrugged, cheeks turning bright red. “What was I supposed to do? My sister’s cute ski instructor was offering me free skiing lessons, after dark, alone. Did I mention that you’re cute? It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Annabeth smiled, hitting him on the shoulder. “You have seaweed for brains,” she announced, a reference to an earlier conversation when he revealed his love of swimming and marine biology. She paused for a moment before bending down and unhooking her boots from her skis, lifting onto her toes when she was free and pressing a soft, warm kiss to his lips.

“Good thing you’re into that, then,” Percy replied through half-lidded eyes, a smirk on his lips. 

Annabeth rolled her eyes and stepped away, clipping her boots back into her skis and picking up her poles from where they’d fallen into the snow. “Race you to the bottom of the hill!” she announced, whipping around and already sliding away.

“Not fair!” Percy yelled after her, rearranging his poles in his hands and chasing after her.

“Winner buys cocoa!” she yelled over her shoulder, a small grin on her face as he caught up. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and sped up, anticipating the warm fire and hot cocoa they would get in the lodge, and the kisses they’d share if he managed to get her under the mistletoe.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are my life-blood


End file.
